A team player is someone who cares more about helping a group or team to succeed than about his or her individual success. At Sarreid, no-one exemplifies this definition more than Chris Barnes, Director of Creative Media. On top of the many responsibilities he has here, he can often be seen giving individual lessons on how to use excel or power point or even how to use your latest Apple device. “What makes Sarreid great is the team. A team willing to learn more, do more and most importantly, throw the old paradigms out the window. Chris has never failed in any of these core tasks,” says CEO Brad Cates.
Hired as a consultant in 2010 to assist our IT team in updating the Sarreid website, Chris spent a year on the project and getting to know the company. Larry Sandwick, head of IT, and Chris remained in touch over the years and would frequently go to lunch. At one if these lunches in 2015, Larry asked Chris if had a lead for a photography/editor position and he said, “Yeah, me!” Chris joined the team in October 2015 and “the rest is history,” Chris explains.
It was the perfect fit considering Chris’ extensive knowledge of photography and a degree in computer science. He was hired to clean up and maintain the image database of thousands of products, which is part of what he still does today. Over the years he has grown into more responsibilities and today he manages the overall “look” of Sarreid. Anything visual goes through Chris’ desk, whether it is photography, videos, website updates, catalogs, flyers, advertisements etc.
When he is not at work, you can find Chris with his family. “I have three beautiful women at home, My wife of 26 years, Cathy, and daughters Caitlyn, 20 and Paige, 18. They are the reason for my being,” Chris exclaims. In addition, he has a large extended family that enjoy getting together as much as possible. His other passion is his love for N.C. State University, where he was the mascot from 1985-1987. Yes, you read that right, he also answers to Mr. Wuf! “Outside of my family, this was one of the best times of my life and there’s not a single day that goes by that I don’t have at least one fond memory of that time. Go Pack!”
Whether he is trading stories with Charles Hoffman, teasing the customer service representatives, or playing around in the warehouse, Chris has friends wherever he goes in the building. And that is the reason he works at Sarreid. “Without a doubt, it is the people,” he says.
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